Generally, residual waters are treated in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP's). From this process, a common side product is waste activated sludge-WAS (secondary sludge), which is mixed with primary sludge to produce biogas by anaerobic digestion. In fact, the procedure of attaining biogas from sludge typically includes a pre-treatment phase of WAS, which depending on the financial and resource availability of each plant, can yield different amounts of biogas. This invention describes a technology driven by a renewable resource for the pre-treatment of waste activated sludge that fosters the production of biogas by up to 100%.
The sanitation sector represents a substantial carbon footprit and is in urgent need of reform. Today, the current WAS pre-treatment technologies are either energy or chemical intensive solutions, and have high associated costs. In this sense, the current invention aims to strongly contribute to turning wastewater treatment plants into energy-self-sufficient facilities, changing the path towards energy neutrality.
SOLARDHYDRO is a technology that (mostly) relies on renewable energy to pre-treat WAS. When compared to current commercial practices, the technology provides a cost-effective alternative that requires less energy and doesn't have any associated chemical residues. In addition, the technology can increase the production of biogas by up to 100% in comparison with currently used procedures.
The technology can have its commercial application in the wastewater treatment plant sector, namely in WWTP's with an interest in the production of biogas.
